ONLINE FRONTLINE

There is so much that is now transpiring online, through Facebook, Twitter and web pages that should be related to our readers.

The recent survey we took indicated that 60 percent of our readers don't go online.

In an effort to at least bring these readers up-to-date as to the frontline online, I will post some of the more interesting information being posted.

• Seattle's foragers: A scene-acre parcel (The Beacon Food Forest) is being developed into a "food forest" where citizens in the working-class neighborhood of Beacon Hill will be able to forage for fruit. - Courtesy The Salt

•Food Compass: The USDA has created an online media narrative entitled "Know Your Farmer, Know Your Food Compass." The narrative answers the questions: Are you a farmer, rancher or food business entrepreneur interested in local and regionally-produced foods? Are you a community leader wondering how local and regional food systems can help your local economy? Are you a consumer interested in learning more about where your food comes from? According to the USDA, the program is "driving job growth, keeping farmers on the land, and keeping wealth in rural communities."

• Harvesting brain-dead chickens: Have you seen the "Matrix" movies? Well the Brits have ventured into a futuristic realm where an architectural student postulates that by removing the chicken's cerebral cortex to erase its sense perceptions the chicken would more "humanely" raised in Britain's factory farms. It is also seen as more humane for the broiler method of killing the chickens for food. - Courtesy Huffington Post

This just isn't an issue for the U.S. and U.K. Israel has also seen a concentration of animal feeding operations (factory farms) as has the East and Southeast Asia. According to Worldwatch.org, "To prevent serious human and environmental costs, policymakers will need to strengthen regulations around the world."

• Heritage grain demand: With the upswing in gluten-free demand, there is an increased demand for grains free of gluten, like Kamut, Millet, Farro, Rye, Teff, Bulgar wheat, Barley, Buckwheat, Groats and Quinoa. - Courtesy Madision.com

• Edible manufactured doppelganger: Did you know you were eating this stuff? Butane is used as an artificial antioxidant in chicken nuggets. Estrogen is found in all non-organic milk. Spinach dust is used to give a sheen to veggie snacks and it has no nutritional value. Antifreeze (propylene glycol) is used in pills, cosmetics, deodorant, moisturizer and fat-free cookie dough ice cream plus cake mixes, salad dressings and dog food. - Courtesy USFood Safety.com

•Supermarket nasties: Grocery store "unappetizing secrets" identified by Mother Nature Network:

(1) "Pink slime" or Lean Beef Trimmings because it is treated with ammonia gas.

(2) Beef because of animal injections of Ivermectin and Flunixin.

(3) Oatmeal due its being sweetened with high fructose syrup and thus may contain mercury.

(4) Shrimp from outside the U.S. because of antibiotics, cleaning chemicals, and toxic pesticides. MNN suggests buying shrimp from Texas, the East Coast, Maine and the Carolinas.

(5) Meat because of the presence of superbug strains like MRSA. MNN suggests buying meat only from "small-scale producers who don't' use antibiotics or huge processing plants."

(6) Canned goods due to the use of Bisphenol A (BPA) to create an epoxy lining for canned food. The chemical "acts like the hormone estrogen in your body" MNN states.

(7) Did you know that the FDA allows "up to 60 percent of canned or frozen blackberries and raspberries to contain mold"?

(8) Lettuce from California irrigated with water from the Colorado River has low levels of perchlorate, a rocket fuel component. - Courtesy Mother Nature Network

•Food waste: According to the National Resources Defense Council, 30-50 percent of all food produced is wasted. For the average American it means tossing away 33 pounds of food each month. - Courtesy Inhabitat.com

Where's the beef going?: Almost everyone knows that in Hindu India, cows are sacred. Outside of a few states, the slaughter and eating of beef is not allowed. However, Bangladesh is a Muslim country with an appetite for beef. Annually about 1.5 million head are smuggled across the border with an estimated value of over $600 million. - Courtesy The Independent.